Stop There

In the name of God stop once,

Stop there, right there and take a glance.

At the world around you, the trees, the planes, the rivers and the hills,

The men, the women, the children, the birds, the cats and the dogs.

They are not different, they are all the same.

They live, they die, they laugh and cry.

Or stand there tall, facing the wind, the sun, the rain and all.

Stop once to notice that you are not alone.

Stop once to notice that it's not the end.

They were, they are and will remain

Happy, healthy, sad or in pain.

Look once to see that broken tree,

Look once to see that child with tears.

Run not away from what is real.

Stop once to feel that wind,

Stop once to realise their sorrow,

Stop there to enjoy the rain.

Stop there before resuming the journey,

Stop there to learn before moving again,

Stop there because it's required to have a pivot,

to mark another phase and to the start from there again. 

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The Three Kinds of People

No matter where we go we will always meet three kinds of people.  The first kinds are the ones who find faults with us and give us endless free advices when we are not successful but are all praise once we are. The second kinds are those who always sympathise us and try to motivate us but turn out to be jealous once we get better than them. Then there are the third kinds who are always by our side, no matter what!

The first categories are foolish they do not have a mind of their own, they like things which everyone else feels is great. They follow the crowd and try to fit in everywhere. They make an attempt to be charming and try to be liked by everyone. These are the people who can never handle rejection and care too much about what others will think instead of focusing on themselves. It is always good to maintain a safe distance from them because they are what we actually call, “The fair weather friends”.  The second categories are those who always like to be with the weak and downtrodden not because they want to  help them but because it makes them feel better when compared to. So, they basically use you to entertain themselves with your “inferiority”.  They are the ones who will first come and tell you that you have changed in a bad way when you succeed in any field of life. They will confront you and try to remind you that you were once nothing. It is very difficult to identify such people at first because they are always so sweet and kind to you. But the moment you realise that they cannot tolerate your success stay away from them as it is advisable to stay away from people who bring in so much negativity.

The third kinds are my favourite they are friends for lifetime. It is hard to find such people but once you do, never get away from them. They are the ones who enjoy your company and love you for what you are or what you will become. I think if we want true and honest friends we will always find those among them. They are “The friend in need type” who will never turn their back on you.  They are the people who don’t require you to pretend in their company.  They make you feel alive and you love to be surrounded by them, so never ever let them go.

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Forty and Still Rocks!

Have you heard the TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert? She is the author of "Eat, Pray, Love" now a movie starring Julia Roberts and has also written a sequel to that book called, "Committed". Though the talk is about writers and their power to create those best selling scripts, I liked something else apart from the moral. There is one point where she mentions that she is "just" forty and perhaps has forty more years of work to do (till she is eighty). That is somewhere I stopped to think. She considers herself forty years young and feels she has still miles to go ahead. Now this is the kind of thinking we should have in India, not that a women should marry by 25, have kids by 30 and retire by 35 from work. We actually forget that as we grow older we evolve, we learn from life's lessons, then why quit when you are just ready to deal with things better and are well equipped to face the problems of life. No matter what is your gender or what job you do, it is never too late to keep working. There are people whose careers have actually started well after forty, Barack Obama being one of them, who became the US Senate only after crossing that age. Perhaps that's what he calls, "The Audacity of Hope". There is no age to start and no age to quit; it is rightly said that as long as you are alive there is still a purpose.  And that is what should keep us driving. 

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Aunts aren’t Gentlemen (Pun Intended)

“Aunts aren’t Gentlemen”, is the title of one of the P.G. Woodhouse books.  I always feel he was very correct about this.  After all Indian aunties are a tale to be told. They actually specialise in spontaneous commentary of anything that comes across them.  They can never be happy about any dress you wear and it’s always against the tradition. They ask you about your job and then they always find an example of someone with a better salary and better house.  They are the only ones who will first spot the strike of white hair on your head and are the spoilers of the big fat Indian weddings.  They dress up to compete with other middle class aunties and if you did not praise their precious jewelry set for the occasion, you just got screwed! Their ultimate goal in life is to keep feeding you and be the best cook in the world.

But aunts cannot be ignored, their vivacious openness is what they call, “a burst of honesty”.  They keep telling you that they are old enough to show you the reality. The best way to handle them is to keep saying yes to whatever they try to impose, whether you do it or not is an after thing. If they shower you with endless free advices or criticism tell them that you would definitely take care of it. Dare not to argue with them, believe me they are well prepared and all set for a long hassle so try avoiding it.  If it was an unplanned meeting always keep an excuse ready for why you haven’t been calling them and a satisfactory answer to “Look at you! Are you not eating anything?” But no matter how good you are your aunt would always claim to be much better than you as she was luckily born years before you and you will always remain a child for her.  The best way to deal with your aunt is to fit in her shoes and dare not to contradict her if you want some peace of mind!

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A story to tell

“Life is a series of stories – and everyone has one”

Cheewa James

When I was a kid I always spent most of my time with my maternal grandparents. They lived in a small town in Odisha, perhaps thirty minutes journey from my parents’ house. Both my parents were working and I did not want to spend time alone during vacations. So, I would bug them to take me to my grandparents’ house and they seldom hesitated.

My grandpa was an amazing story teller and my granny was an awesome cook, this made their place heaven. Now my grandpa would tell me and my cousin stories from his own life, simple ones, not too long and never too boring. He was from a humble background, born in a village with two elder brothers and a peasant father. His mother was one of the most traditional and decent woman of those days. I always felt he had inherited a lot from her when I used to look at her photo. They had never planned to send him to high school but his scores were simply too good to be ignored. Also he had this dream to be one of the “Babus”. This made him strive to achieve the very best and excel in whatever he learnt. After being a gold medallist in BSc and MSc Physics from the Ravenshaw University, Odisha he went ahead to do his Post Doctorate from British Columbia somewhere around the 1960s. He would then return to his roots and become a Professor in Odisha, writing books for the state board and starting a Science Magazine in Odia.

Life is indeed a series of stories and some stories touch your heart. They give you hope, make you dream and always end with a moral. My grandfather is no more but the stories he has told me will always show me path, will always drive my spirit high and encourage me to follow my heart. Though I am in the Software Industry now, I somewhat feel thankful that as a kid I did not have an iPad to spend my evenings playing games, otherwise I would have missed the stories which I feel is a treasure for lifetime.

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Writing your heart out!

I read it somewhere that if you are worried about something just write it illustratively in a piece of paper and burn it down. Watch the paper while it burns and let yourself feel good while your worries crumble down to ashes. I feel writing is an amazing thing, it helps you to give a vent to your pent up feelings and lets you discover the real you. Here are five reasons why I write

1. To think loud

It's like giving my thoughts a form where I can see it, capture it and keep it forever. May be someday when I am feeling gloomy it will bring in a smile.

2. To have a conversation

Someone far out there is reading and perhaps thinking back, leaving a message as a comment and in a way making me feel valued.

3. Making someone's day

Lot of my friends have called me and told me that I wrote something positive. When they had a bad day and were upset the blog gave them some hope, made them feel good. So, you never know whose day you are making by telling your story and bringing in good will.

4. Gives you a purpose

It actually drives away the feeling of worthlessness and depression. Completing a blog is a small task achieved and having an audience is another. It gives a meaning and purpose to go on and create art.

5. For no reason

“Art for art's sake!” Lastly it’s good to write just for the sake of writing, for no reason, no expectation, and without bothering about the consequences. Let the mind think, let the imagination flow and let there be nothing or no one to stop you from penning it down.

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Facing Failure

Being underrated only gives you the urge to improve. You start modifying your each action, you start learning from the disapprovals, from the rejections and you grow to understand the denigrations. Nothing comes without a solution, when you face hardship you try to overcome it. You try to leverage every possible mental or physical resource you have to duck your decline. Mankind evolves only at the verge of destruction and when you are under pressure your productivity actually increases, you become more efficient and determined to resolve that what otherwise seemed impossible. You succeed only when you fight back against being doomed, only when you have the willingness to contradict your past.

Success on the other hand makes you relaxed in a way that you forget, "nothing is forever" and "change is the only constant". People mostly fail to handle success because they think of settling down, they assume that success will prevail forever. But we all know it doesn't and if it does it needs evolution. We cannot expect the same methods to bring success all the time in the changing environment. Hence to maintain success we need to adapt to change. Failure actually makes us exercise our brains, pushes us to take risks and discover things about ourselves that we never thought existed. It often helps us experiment again to get back the success we had once. Just like Steve Jobs said on being fired from Apple, “The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again.” And as you know the rest happens to be history!

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Believing in Magic

I was reading "Very Good Lives" which is the deeply influential commencement speech delivered by JK Rowling at Havard University. In it she says.

"We do not need magic to change the world,

we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already"

May be that's why when we most want to leave, we decide to stay back and give it a try.

May be that's why miracles are done by people who were most discouraged and mislead but did not quit.

May be that's why we get up one fine morning and get that brilliant idea that changes our life forever.

May be that's why the most weird dream at times starts making sense.

May be that's why we find pleasure where we had least expected it to exist.

May be that's why life keeps giving us one more chance and then another.

May be that's why it's never too late and never too early to try.

And that's what Cecelia Ahern says in her book, "The year I met you" that

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over,

it became a butterfly..."

Time to believe in magic which comes with simple and ordinary phases of life that leads to Miracles!

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Being Woman

Few weeks back we had a corporate training for selected middle level women managers. The trainer, a lady with about 20 years of work experience told us some life changing thoughts. She asked us to get a pen and paper and write down, “What are your roles as mother, wife, sister and daughter?” The next thing she said was to “List down what are your roles and responsibilities at office?” The first question had an exhaustive answer and everyone kept putting down loads of points when it came to relationships. Also we realised that our domestic roles are not well defined and society has lot of expectations from a woman in these areas. We found that office role was very clearly outlined and we understood exactly what to do there. So, the next thing the instructor said was, “Start defining your domestic roles as well and don't let people tell you what you need to do as a mother or wife”. We cannot always have a "perfect" balance and we need to let go certain things without feeling guilty. It is good to have a domestic help and its okay if you can't cook ten awesome dishes after work.

The next very valid point which she made was about, “The area of Influence”. There are certain things we mostly feel are not in our control but they actually are. For example if there is a loud celebration in your apartment and you have that certification to do for a promotion or your kid got exam take that extra step to convince that noisy neighbour assertively. She asked us to move out of our comfort zone and go that extra mile. Sounds very much relevant and what I enjoyed the most in the session was the video showing Sheryl Sandberg's talk, "Lean in". I have also read her book and these three points actually make an impact.

1. “Sit at the table”

      Don't hesitate to be at the center of meeting and raise your hand.

2. “Don't leave before you leave”

      Don't let your future “personal” plans affect your present “career”. 
      May be it's too early to hold yourself back.

3. “Make your Partner, the real partner”

      Make it work together, share the load with your partner J

She then asked us to write what we wanted to achieve in next 10 years. After I read what I wrote I realised that I had my ambitions which I kept hidden for a long time. I wanted to prove myself and take up important roles but wasn't ready to discuss about it with my seniors or even asked for a mentor. I, like every other woman in the room was scared of getting the labels like “bossy” and “selfish”. And I realised instead of wasting my time thinking about others I could actually focus on improving myself and work towards achieving my goals. The session was definitely something to remember and something to implement both in my personal and professional life. I think all women should give it a thought and live a life which they have always dreamt of having. 

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What Money Can Buy!

People always have guilt associated with spending money or slogging to earn more but then money can cheer you up. It can actually help in creating an environment where you can experience happiness.

Here are 5 things that money can buy and lift your spirit!

1. A good place to live

"A house of our dreams", is what a young couple says and is where old parents want to settle down. A cool place to spend the rest of our lives, to create memories, to have pride, to build trust and to follow the dreams we have with our close ones. Sure money can't buy happiness but it can support for the same, it can give us what we desire if we put a little effort to earn it.

2. Healthy food

Food is a bare necessity, a basic requirement. But good food or balanced diet can keep you healthy. After all health is wealth but then health requires wealth too! Be it the preventive diet or the doctor's fees or a food that makes you happy and is hygienic, all require some money. So, money becomes a necessity too, not just to meet basic requirements but boost happiness.

3. Classy clothes

How we dress is how we express and its money that can make you feel like you. Also there is nothing wrong in going for labels or good quality elegant products because it actually lasts longer. So you save some money in the long run by going for the "good" stuffs.

4. Social Network 

These days it is not only good but important to do networking. It is often seen that people with good networks are not just good at work but an expert at event management. Sometimes the networking helps you find love and the physical network (Internet of course) makes you connect with your family and friends even when you are miles apart. So, there's nothing wrong in organizing that party or buying the latest tablet or getting a decent car if that can boost morale.

5. Good books and movies

This is my most favourite section. A good book lightens your mood, takes you to a better place of imagination, gives you enlightenment, makes you learn from another's experience and more. So, if you can't wait for that paper back there shouldn't be any guilt in buying the hardbound and nothing wrong in spending a fortune for reading. And yes if you had a fight of any kind or had a hectic schedule for some time, it's never too bad to book a ticket at the multiplex or get the royal seat if that can cheer you up and charge you for the next assignment.

I have experienced all this and I agree with Roman Playwright, Plautus that, "You must spend money to make money". Also I saw some tweets recently which said, "I got 99 problems and money could solve at least 73 of them"!

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Growing Wiser

I have always fancied growing old. I know it’s debatable, but I believe when you add life to years you grow wiser. It's actually a phenomenon to embrace what life has to teach every time. And it's a miracle every day trying to be better than what you were yesterday. True that when I was a kid I had less worries but I had no control over my surroundings or even my life. Of course we face more challenges as we grow up but then we are wiser and well equipped to handle our situation. Growing up is about moving out of your comfort zone and daring to take risks. We learn to explore and in the process add values to our life.

For me the best part was doing my graduation and finding the right job. When I was at engineering the study, the tech fests, the trips and the projects played a great role in shaping my future. I was no longer an introvert; I learnt how to make a point and stand by it and developed passion for what I did. The interaction with class fellows and teachers gave me a clear vision. I was no longer the confused person trying to figure out what to do next but someone who was sure about my dreams. I learnt that even if I failed to fulfill any of my dreams, I would actually love the process of trying and never giving up. I have also never considered my job to be just a bread earning thing and it gives me purpose and desire to live. Like I said growing up is about growing wiser, learning more and improving the life of others. There can be no end to learning and there can be no end to imparting knowledge. There are always people who can learn from our experience and we never know who are motivated by our urge to live and learn for better. It is rightly said that it's never too late to start anything new and if we are alive there is still a purpose. Moreover just because you are growing old it never means to stop having fun. Growing up helps to overcome weakness and makes you dare to face failures. So, why be afraid to grow old? Old is definitely gold!

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The Shopping Therapy

After a tiring week I have always tried my best to do something relaxing in the weekend. At times reading books, watching TV or browsing just doesn't help. I feel an urge to go out doors to the fascinating malls which we don't have many in Bhubaneswar but decent enough to chill out. I can't tell you how many times I have felt much better and enjoyed reading a book more at the book store or a coffee shop rather than sitting at home. And sometimes just walking in the mall is more relaxing than staying at home and trying to take a nap. I am quite traditional in that way because I would rather love to go and try a dress in a retail outlet than just browse over all those online stores. May be because being in the software industry I anyways spend the whole week in front of the computer and when it comes to weekend I need that rush of people around me or the soothing music that often plays in those majestic stores.

So, who says money can't buy happiness? It actually can! Occasionally having that pizza with extra cheese or having the coffee laced with cream can definitely change the mood, just that we mustn't skip the exercise afterwards. I enjoy treating myself to the little shopping therapy where I often spend most of the time at the accessories store buying one or two items but browsing the entire section. I have tried one more thing, even if I have been to the mall for grocery shopping I window shop the whole mall before reaching the grocery section. This has made me happier and relaxed. I never rush to do the shopping or shop all at a time, I actually plan to invest considerable time in it and enjoy the carefree process. If you plan shopping way in advance it changes from a headache to a real stress buster. True most of the time we end up buying more than our actual needs, that’s why having a plan and knowing what we are buying is important. At times it's even important to know what you need to window shop i.e. "enjoyment" and what you need to purchase i.e. "requirement". This balance makes shopping a soothing experience that cheers you up and lightens the mood. And if you are a man accompanying a lady to the shopping mall you can always tell her the tricks to make shopping a thrilling experience while you enjoy sports in the Electronic section!

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Together We Perform

When I passed college and joined the corporate little did I know that my technical skills are not enough. I thought a cup of coffee and a cosy seat was all that I needed. But gradually I learnt that it's all about working together and performing as a team that matters the most. Right from the initial training program we were taught how to break the ice among us. I remember this exercise conducted by our learning coordinator where we were asked to describe ourselves in a paper rocket and blow it off in the class. The person who gets it had to figure out whose rocket it was and try to learn more about the owner. So, each one of us got someone's rocket and each one of us created a rocket, that way we were no longer strangers to at least a handful of people. Never less we enjoyed the fun filled session. Few days after we were asked to enact a skit and I had all these ideas bubbling out but my team which was built by the instructor, had their own thoughts too. The first thing I had to do was listening to them, the next step was to convey my ideas and the third was to decide on the plot. I saw that when I started listening they were all ears to me too and we worked together to build the script. With the right communication and right planning the skit happened to be the best among all teams. That was perhaps my first lesson at corporate that work is about growing together and making use of each other’s strength.

Few weeks back I was watching the movie "The Imitation Game" when it all came back to me. Though Alan Turing was a brilliant cryptanalyst it was only when he became a decent team player they could successfully break the Nazi codes. It's the team that matters and who says there has to be a strict line between work and fun or colleagues and friends. Sometimes your team becomes your extended family and I have friends who have actually found their soul mates at office. Back at engineering I had read how a group of people need to do the decision making. This is because everyone has their own approach, so some people can see what the others can't. That's why if we need to analyze a problem from all aspects we need to work in a team where everyone's opinion matters. Not only work, life is all about learning and sharing, about growing and making others grow. We may not be prefect on our own but if we are in a diverse team where anybody can voice their opinion and express candour we can definitely near perfection. So, no matter what it is only together we perform and the togetherness can actually work wonders.

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Abnormal

Differences are beautiful. So, why try to be normal when you were born to be different? Why live another's life when abnormal is the new normal!

Why be normal when your were born to be the misfit,

Why follow another when you can fathom out your enigma.

Why walk behind the steps when you can lead,

Why explain another when you were meant to be yourself.

Why kill time the usual way when unusual amuses you,

Why choose the road that exists when you can create one.

Why try living some else's life when you are gifted,

Why create the common when you are rare.

Why care for their words who aren't certain,

Somehow the answer lies with you,

Somehow the silence knows what to do.

Somehow the dreams try and guide,

Somehow the heart knows all that is right.

So wear that smile and have twinkle in the eyes,

And march your way towards the bright light.

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Mystery

Life is a series of untold and inexperienced mysteries. Wait for the inevitable and let miracles happen. Allow it to take it's time!

Draw away the curtains and let no one know,

Bring in some light but let the darkness prevail.

Cut open the rare but let the commonality reign,

Kill the lie but wait for the truth to show up.

Uncover the greatest mysteries but do not let them reconcile,

Be forewarned of the inevitable and keep a secret eye.

Solve the illusion but let the dilution spread,

Kick open the covers but let it remain underneath.

Breathe breathe till the last hour remains,

Do not hurry for the lucrative needs to be hidden.

Face it only when it's time to explore,

Keep belying till the lie is white.

Wait wait to cease that moment,

Hold on till it can no longer be behold.

Right then release and let it glow like fire,

Burn it then and burn till it gulps the mad world,

Let it be lightened and let them evolve,

For now they have to look higher and higher.

Another Life

The famous American stand-up comedian Dennis Miller once said, “Born again?! No, I'm not. Excuse me for getting it right the first time.” What if you get another life, would you really want it? Some may be overwhelmed with the idea that they would get another chance to live right from the start and lead a "perfect" life. But then trying to be perfect would often stop us from trying something new, anticipating the chances of failure. We were told as a kid not to pull everything out of the jar at once and try little by little. After all we can't have it all. I think "Best", "Perfect" and "Great" are illusions, there are no right parameters to judge them. Moreover what seems great to others may not be great for you. Success that doesn't thrill you is only a success to the world. Why live a life defined by someone else, when each one of us is so different from another? Why let ourselves be judged by another when they don't really know who we are? It is only I who knows me better than anyone else and it is only when I am fully conscious can I identify my real potentials. Having the right life doesn't mean to live a life that seems right to the world but to be comfortable with what we have. I think the right life is when we are happy and have no regrets. When we realize that we are what we are because of the mistakes we made and learnt from them, can we be grateful. The right choices that came after lot of wisdom and these self learning can actually help us appreciate what we have. Nothing is perfect, nothing needs to be. Being born again therefore is not the right option but loving what we have and accepting what life has to give us each time is. Life is to be accepted, celebrated and lived to the fullest extent. I can best explain it in the lines below.

She balances both grotesque and grace,

And pulls me up to an uneven place.

Where I know not what is right,

Yet obliged to take up my flight.

She shows me light,

But that’s not bright.

There are shades, I vaguely realize,

There’s hope too but in disguise.

To pull her cover,

She takes my labour.

Demands concentration and needs patience

For she hears and bears but is in silence.

She blooms like a flower post some winter,

But again she withers, grows fainter.

Well that’s not the end,

For she tries again.

And this time round she succeeds,

She satisfies and meets my needs.

To conclude she is hard but sweet,

Sharp but smooth, like a knife.

She is pleasant, she is life.

Like a flickering candle she may glow with difficulty,

Like a struggling player she may win with penalty.

But looking deep I realise,

There is light in this life.

Call it a Day!

Prelude

The stars have buried their heads.

The moon has gone away.

And the faint sun finds its way,

Far at some corner silence weeps,

As the birds have stolen all the sleeps.

The morning's melody begins,

In my city the day begins!

Epilogue

The sun has set,

The crowd has left.

But there is still a pleasant tomorrow,

A way to home, smoky and narrow.

Time to leave and find way back,

Time to walk, past the dark.

A good try to call it a day,

A good reason to smile with gay.

The last lamp down the street,

Says the path ahead is sweet.

The last raindrop sings with joy,

To give you dear, a reason to enjoy!

The Art of Choosing What to Listen

People say listening is a good exercise. Sure it is, it makes you think, gives a vent to your imagination, improves creativity and opens new doors. In fact we can only talk if we listen and we cannot write without listening either. Listening helps us in better elucidations, it brings up the pent up feelings and often lets us know who we are and what to do with our skills. If we allow ourselves to listen, we allow ourselves to grow, to improve and to innovate. So, it is important that we listen more than we talk and important that we let the knowledge flow in for it to flow out.

I wonder therefore how important and urgent it is to decide what to listen. Since listening is an ability that allows us to learn, it is also something which deeply influences us. So, the right learning can come from the right listening and hence it is required for us to meticulously judge what we must allow ourselves to listen. There are a lot of things happening around us every day and a lot of people talking all the time. We need to select whom to be with and whom to listen to. Some people are sadists and gloomy, they infect us with sorrows. Whether or not we are aware of it we keep falling prey to such negativity when we are surrounded by such people. It is true that we tend to be like the company we have. Same with what we chose to listen. There are people who belittle us, who keep telling us that certain things are not achievable. They are short-sighted, meek, afraid to grow, reluctant to accept change and spend their whole lives in their comfort zones, terrified to explore possibilities because they fear to fail. Such people can only denigrate our confidence and create self doubt. If we need to grow we need to figure out who to be with and what to learn. I am not saying that only being in the right company can help, it is about finding positivity. Reading a good book is like listening to the author speaking to you through his writings. Watching a motivational video or speech is like learning about new dimensions. I believe setting the right environment actually helps us grow. So, it is essential that we create a healthy atmosphere to exchange rational thoughts, views and ideas that bring positivity.

One of my senior colleagues was accused by some of her peers for not being such a good listener but I knew she was doing great and was one of the top performers in her team. Surprised I asked her if that allegation was even true. To that she smiled and said, "Oh dear! I am good at listening but it only depends on who is talking!” I agree that was a bold statement but then she is a strong lady already achieved more than her peers and doing a lot better to climb the ladders of her career. The entire day happens to be a cacophony of talks but if only we can trace the right ones, keep aside the gossips, follow our heart and chose what we want to listen, I believe the beautiful difference can be made.

Happy Hours

There was a time in my life when getting up every morning and trying to be happy was next to impossible. Everything around me seemed gloomy and I wasn't able to laugh so hard that it would hurt. I won't say that I was depressed, that would be a very serious term. I would rather say it was somewhere between unhappiness and depression. I would sit hours doing facebook looking at other people's achievements, photos, travelogues which would end up making me even more sad. Sometimes I would listen to music but would not prefer to sing along or get up and dance at a hip hop number. There were days when I saw old photos, re read chats but never typed those old friends a "Hi". I would go to office do my work, I won't say I did any fatal errors there but didn't actually enjoy it as much as I do now. All this made me a little gloomy and perhaps I was losing my confidence. One fine day I was browsing the Internet and saw some article about positive thinking. That actually made me realise that I did not feel happy and the very first step was to accept that feeling. And when I tried to analyse I realised there was no specific reason for me to behave like that. Sure my life wasn't perfect but it wasn't a failure either, I knew people with more troubles. That article on positive thinking that I had come across said that if you have food to eat, a roof above your head, a job to pay your bills and no fatal diseases that are incurable then you have all the reasons to be happy! I realised that my reason to be gloomy and upset was that I cared too much and took certain things seriously that should be ignored. That often left me stressed out, loosing enthusiasm and vigour.

So, the first thing I decided to do before it was too late was to remain active and pick up something nice that lifts my spirit and leaves me cheering. Moreover as boredom and idleness actually are the root cause of all human problems I decided to kill them forever. I took small steps at a time and started with making coffee in the morning. So, instead of getting up late and having my breakfast in front of the television without actually watching it, I watched the milk boil for me to add sugar and coffee. If my coffee was perfect then the very first task in the morning was perfect and if nothing else turned out to be right that day then at least I had my perfect morning coffee to think about. Small things do matter, that’s why it's essential to be a god of them. The next goal was to organise stuffs that not only made me happy after doing it but was kind of a stress buster. I started with my desktop, it had like 100 icons most of it unnecessary temporary files. I sat down and properly arranged them reducing it by one fourth. Sounds small but it was a clutter of years and gave me a sense of satisfaction. So, I was encouraged to do similar activities. I installed the softwares that I was planning to since a year. I had three pendrives, two of them 16gb and one 32 gb. All packed with stuffs that weren't copied to my laptop which had one drive completely empty! Sounds crazy isn't it, but happens right? So, I copied all of it to my laptop and made room for more data to come in. After all the whole world is about data, big data and information! I then realised I had some five watches and was using only two of them, reason being a damaged band or a battery drain out. So, I went to the service centre and got all of them repaired. It might sound silly to you but more choices mean more happiness. Next I heard about a charity program in the radio about donating unused clothes to the poor. I looked at my closet that had actually more number of unused stuffs than used ones. So, I pulled out all the clothes that I had either forgotten about or had no suitable place to wear. Believe me there was a plenty of it. I asked my friends and family to do the same. They enjoyed the activity too and we decided to go in person and gift it to the poor. And when that happened we actually realised why it is called "The joy of giving". It was their smiles that brought in the true happiness.

Now I read more and read till the end. I sing along when I listen to music. My personal blog is more active than it used to be those days. I am more regular in the Toastmaster speech club. I cook more often. I can now laugh at silly jokes and crack one myself too. I can now be happy and spread happiness because I find it in the simple pleasures of life.

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Trial and Error

I came across an amazing line in one of the young adult books of "John Green". It says, why is it named "trial and error" but not "trial and success"? Perhaps it's trial-error-try-it-again. I think the truth is that the probability of error is often more than success. A grand success is actually a sum total of endless failures and the lessons learnt from each of them. It's about failing and each time failing better than the previous one. True that the world actually belongs to people who don't give up, who try it just one more time when everyone else has given up. I have realized that success belongs to people who know how to smile at the face of disaster and who believe in rising from their ashes like a phoenix. 

Coming to motivation, I think we can be motivated only if we seek motivation and desire to be encouraged and prepared to learn. If we wish to get inspired it can happen anywhere and anytime, be it listening to an old friend talk about life or meeting a total stranger who seems to be happy and spreads happiness. It can be in the middle of a desert watching people work in spite of the scorching sun, watching someone climb the Everest yet again on television or seeing someone practice football drenched in rain. 

I think we learn only when we wish to learn and we succeed only when we are ready to face failures. Well it's always said, "Where there is a will, there is a way". True indeed!

The Gift: The value of Time (Book Review)

“The Gift” is yet another intriguing novel written by Cecelia Ahern. It is an enchanting and thoughtful Christmas story that beautifully elucidates to all of us about the value of time and what is truly important in life. It speaks to your heart and helps you realise the priorities in life. 

This man Lou Suffern the protagonist of the story always keeps juggling two things in mind simultaneously. He keeps a constant fight with the clock which creates sensitive issue with his family. Not until Lou invites a homeless man Gabe into his life that his world changes beyond measure. 

Gabe makes Lou realise that the later is among the competitive and ambitious people with their eye on the prize instead of the task at hand. “People who wanted to be the best for all the wrong reasons and who’d take almost any path to get to that place”. Gabe explains that paths often become clearer when people stop looking at what everyone else is doing and instead focus on themselves. 

“Appreciating your loved ones. Acknowledging all the special people in your life. Concentrating on what’s important” is the clear message given in the book. This book is a heavenly gift that makes you think about the value of life. An emotional and fun filled tale about time, work and love.